One Good Deed
by Baine
Summary: Fed up with the idea of Christmas, Tokyo's resident humbug Darien Chiba is about to find out the true meaning of Holiday Spirit.


One Good Deed

Chapter 1/1  
By Baine  
Email: ladybaine at gmail dot com  
Today is November 28, 2001

Hey Everyone! Well, this is a Christmas fic that I wrote back in the day. This fic won some kind of award back in the day, but I really can't remember what now…;;

Okay, on with the story!

Important Author's Notes at the bottom so that I don't take away from the story that you're about to read!

**---------------------------------  
One Good Deed  
By Baine  
---------------------------------  
**  
I pulled down on my heavy green jacket and released a small avalanche of snow as I stepped into a local department store. Quickly picking up the remaining items that I needed to finish up my Christmas shopping, I hurried to the crowded checkout line, full of last-minute shoppers rushing to finish before the dawn of Christmas, now less than four hours away.

It was almost Christmas time, and there I stood in another line, trying to buy that last gift or two. I grimaced inwardly as I settled down for the imminent wait. This was what I hated the most about Christmas—the _waiting_. Not really in the Christmas mood tonight, all of this waiting was killing me, making my resentment for the overrated holiday fester deeper within me, causing me to become even crankier than I already was.

After waiting for what seemed like centuries, the cashier finally turned to the next customer. I glanced in front of my cart and blinked in surprise. Standing right in front of me was a little boy waiting anxiously. He was pacing around like little boys do. Of course, that wasn't what surprised me the most. In his hands, he held a pair of shoes. His clothes were worn and old, and he was dirty from head to toe. It looked like he had been tumbling around outside, only the ground was currently hidden under a layer of snow.

I watched as the cashier finally turned to the small boy, who was clutching onto a pair of flowery-pink slippers for dear life. He handed the slippers to the cashier, and I noticed for the first time that he wore no coat, only a ratty old blue sweater and a faded pair of jeans that seemed to have been washed one time too many, as they came up above his ankles. His once-white socks sagged down towards his shoes, which were coated in dirt and had a toe poking out at the top of the left shoe.

I stared at him absently, wondering what he was doing out so late the night before Christmas and wearing so little on such a cold night. When it came his time to pay, I blinked in shock and rubbed at my ears, wondering if I should buy Q-Tips before heading home. I simply couldn't believe what I had heard him say. He spoke softly yet strongly, his voice never wavering as he smiled happily and looked the clerk in the eyes.

"Sir, I wanna buy these shoes for my mama, please. It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size." He shifted from foot to foot as the cashier slowly rang up and bagged his purchase. "Could you hurry, sir? Daddy says there's not much time." Here he frowned sadly and paused before continuing. "You see, she's been sick for quite a while, and I know these shoes would make her smile, and I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight."

The cashier announced his total and the boy pulled a crumpled brown bag out of his faded pocket. He turned it upside down and a stream of pennies poured down onto the counter.

He counted pennies for what seemed like years, then the cashier said, "Son, there's not enough here."

The boy looked at the clerk, stunned. He searched his pockets frantically, then he turned and he looked at me, unshed tears glimmering in his eyes. His lip trembled and he sounded unsure for the first time that night. He said, "Mama made Christmas good at our house, though, most years she just did without. Tell me, Sir, what am I gonna do? Somehow I've gotta buy her these Christmas shoes."

My heart reached out for the boy standing before me, so I quickly pulled out my wallet and I laid the money down because I just had to help him out. I smiled down at the boy and said reassuringly, "Don't worry, your mama can still have her Christmas shoes."

The boy's face lit up like a light bulb, and I'll never forget the look on his face as he said, "Mama's gonna look so great!"

The clerk handed back my change and a receipt, then handed the bag to the boy, who thanked me profusely before running back out into the cold winter night.

The boy's voice repeated itself in my head as I paid for what I had come to get, and I knew his sad face would be forever implanted in my brain, his words optimistic in spite of their serious nature.

_Sir, I wanna buy these shoes, for my mama, please. It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size. Could you hurry, sir? Daddy says there's not much time. You see, she's been sick for quite a while, and I know these shoes will make her smile, and I want her to look beautiful, if Mama meets Jesus tonight..._

As I walked out of the store, idly swinging my bag back and forth as I walked, I came to an epiphany. I knew I'd caught a glimpse of Heaven as he thanked me and ran out. All of a sudden, I knew that God had sent that little boy to remind me what Christmas is all about.

This boy, so unselfish and caring, knew his mother was dying and wanted to make her last Christmas memorable. He would have spent his entire savings just so that his mother could be happy for a little longer and look her best when she went to meet Jesus in Heaven. Here I was, running through the motions of preparing for Christmas as though it were a chore, only to be shamed when a little boy came along and shed a light on me, forcing me to re-analyze myself and re-discover the true meaning of Christmas!

I looked around in wonder, seeing my surroundings with unveiled eyes and immersing myself in the beauty of nature that I had never before stopped to appreciate as I slowly walked home, the boy's haunting plea echoing continuously in my mind.

_Sir, I wanna buy these shoes, for my mama, please. It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size. Could you hurry, sir? Daddy says there's not much time. You see, she's been sick for quite a while, and I know these shoes will make her smile, and I want her to look beautiful, if Mama meets Jesus tonight..._

_  
...I want her to look beautiful, if Mama meets Jesus tonight..._

-----------------------------

"Hi, Andrew!"

I looked up as a petite girl with dirty-blond hair styled into two pigtails that streamed down from two buns on top of her head appeared beside me and sat down, staring raptly at the golden-haired boy standing before her.

The boy smiled, showing off his perfect white teeth, and quickly slid her a steaming cup of hot chocolate. "Hi, Serena! How was your Christmas?"

"It was alright. We just did some family stuff and opened presents. How about you?"

"I pretty much did the same thing as you. I also had some friends stop over to visit for awhile. For the past two days, I've been helping my dad and sister clean up the mess we created—it still looks like a bomb exploded!"

The girl giggled lightly. "Sounds like fun."

"Oh yeah, it's been a thrill a minute." He turned to me and eyed my empty cup. "Do you want another cup of coffee, Darien?"

His smile was so contagious that I couldn't help but smile back. "Sure." When he turned around to make my coffee, I turned toward the girl sitting beside me.

"So, Odango, in case you haven't realized, it's the dead of winter, yet you're still dressed as though it were summer." I glanced appraisingly at her school uniform, at the white blouse which had worked its way out of her short blue skirt, and at her red necktie which hung haphazardly from her collar, desperately in need of being re-tied. "You should probably go into the bathroom and freshen up. Your clothes got rumpled when you ran over here at the speed of light."

"Gee, Darien, thanks for the advice." She lifted her mug of hot chocolate to her lips and drank deeply.

I shook my head in amusement and took pity on the girl, deciding not to tease her for the remainder of the afternoon, no matter how hard such a task would prove to be. "So, Serena, you had a nice Christmas?"

She looked at me strangely, suspicion glinting in her eyes, before shrugging her shoulders. "Yeah, it was alright. I basically spent the day with my family. It was really nice." She tilted her head towards me. "How about you, Darien? Did you have a nice holiday?"

I paused thoughtfully before answering, taking time to formulate what I wanted to say. "It was very…interesting, to say the least. I realized a lot of things and got to know myself a little better. I went to visit Andrew for awhile, but for the most part I just sat at home and reflected on things." I smiled sardonically. "That sounds pretty dumb to you, doesn't it?"

"No, Darien, not at all. It makes perfect sense. Once in a while we find ourselves having a moment of clarity, and it forces us to re-evaluate anything and everything we've ever believed in."

I stared at her, stunned. "That's exactly it. I just couldn't find the words to express what I wanted to say. It's almost as though you read my mind."

She smiled ruefully. "Maybe I just understand what you're talking about."

The arcade's door chimes tinkled and I glanced towards the door out of habit before turning back to Serena. A moment later, I was staring at the door again as a small boy wearing a faded blue knit hat walked up to the counter. I instantly recognized him to be the boy I had bumped into on Christmas Eve.

"Hey, Squirt, I haven't seen you in a while! Do you want a nice, warm drink?"

The boy smiled up at Andrew and nodded his head. "Sure!"

"No problem, Kiddo. How does Andrew's Super-Special Hot Cocoa sound? Good?"

The boy nodded again, then turned and looked at the girl sitting to his left. "Hey, Serena. Can I sit with you?"

"Sure, Squirt, hop on." She smiled softly down at the boy and pulled him onto her lap. "So, how are things at home?"

"Mama's resting again and Daddy won't let me in to see her."

Serena frowned sadly and ruffled the boy's hair, causing him to squirm to the side and come face to face with me.

I watched as his eyes widened in recognition. He tugged on Serena's shirt, and when she bent her head, he whispered loudly, "That's him, Serena! He's the nice man who bought those shoes for Mama!"

Serena blinked, startled, and looked towards where the boy was pointing. Her eyes widened when she saw that he was pointing right at me. "Darien bought your slippers for Mama, Sammy?"

He nodded enthusiastically and repeated my name, memorizing the sound of it. "Thank you again, Darien! Mama liked the shoes very much, didn't she, Serena?"

She nodded soundlessly, her eyes still fixed upon me, almost as though she'd seen a ghost.  
It was my turn to be startled as I raised my eyes towards Serena's. "Is this your brother, Serena?"

My question brought her back to reality, and she slowly nodded her head. "This is Sammy. He's nine."

The boy smiled proudly. "I'm closer to ten though, now that it's almost the New Year!"

I smiled at the boy's bubbly nature, recognizing it to be much like his big sister's. "How's your Mama doing, Sammy?"

The small boy shrugged his shoulders. "She's still really sick, but I could actually visit her for a while on Christmas! Daddy doesn't like me staying with Mama anymore because he says that she needs to rest and get ready to go meet Jesus. He says she'll be going to visit him really soon. Mama said that she's happy to be going to see Jesus because He'll take away her pain so that she can be happy again, but she's very sad because she'll miss me and Serena very much. She shouldn't be sad, though, because Jesus will make her well again so that she can be happy and have fun and not have to sleep all of the time." He smiled at me, then turned towards Andrew as a cup of steaming cocoa was set before him. "Hey Andrew, do you have any extra tokens today?

Andrew smiled fondly at the small boy staring up at him in adoration. "I don't know, Kiddo, let me check." He burrowed his hands into his white apron and pulled out five golden tokens. "Looks like you're in luck!" He dropped the coveted prize into Sammy's outstretched hands and chuckled as he shot off towards the arcade area.

I tore my eyes from Sammy and looked over at his sister, who was idly stirring her hot chocolate with a coffee stirrer. "I'm so sorry about your mother, Serena."

She looked up at me, her eyes glimmering with unshed tears. "So am I, Darien...so am I. I think that the worst part about this is that Sammy doesn't understand that when Mama goes to Heaven to be with Jesus she's never coming back. He thinks that she's just going to visit and get well. He just—he doesn't understand!" She stabbed at her drink in frustration, then reached up and swiped at her face with her left hand, effectively smearing the lone tear trickling down her cheek.

"I'm so sorry, Serena. There isn't anything that I can say to make you feel better." I sighed pensively. "It's really hard to let go, isn't it? To know that once your mother is gone, she'll never come back, to know that you'll never see her again once she walks through Heaven's pearly gates."

She looked into my eyes and our gazes locked, betraying emotions that were normally buried deeply beneath the surface and hidden from view. Memories that I thought I had drowned long ago swam up to haunt me, floating in my eyes for her to see if she thought to look hard enough.

"Yes, Darien, it is. It really is."

"At least you're making the most out of the time you have left with her, Serena. Focus on that, and remember the good times. Talk to each other, and don't leave anything left unsaid, unlock every door and make every moment count. Trust me, you'll regret it later if you don't. If you come to terms with everything now, you won't be as inconsolable in the future, and time will continue to go on for you instead of running up against a stalemate."

She nodded slowly. "You're absolutely right, Darien." She smiled at me and stood up, taking three dollars out of her pocket and placing them on the counter, ignoring the shake of Andrew's head.

"Thank you, Darien. You've been very kind and helpful to me this afternoon. I don't know why, but I really appreciate it." She began walking towards her brother, than turned back to me once more.

"And, Darien? Just to let you know, I do trust you—and not just because you told me to." She smiled again, then walked over to where Sammy stood, pouting at the video game that had eaten his final token as he watched the little man on skis plummet off of a cliff and die, the words Game Over flashing on the now-black screen.

I watched as she put her arm around his shoulders, and together they walked out of the arcade and home to their mother.

---------------------------------------

Disclaimer: I'm a Moonie Girl, in Naoko's world…Imagination, life is your creation!...Sorry, couldn't help myself::giggle: So, Sailor Moon isn't mine…uh…neither is Aqua's song "Barbie Girl," which I just mutilated for my disclaimer …..and **NEWSONG's "Christmas Shoes" song doesn't belong to me, either!** That's right, ladies and germs! The song lyrics that I've written in as dialogue don't belong to me. Tragic, isn't it?

Okay, AN time! If you've never heard this song, go to whatever music source you use and download it! It is so sad and sweet. I LOVE it! I got this idea in the spring, and wrote it down, delving into the song. I hope it came out alright! I know the dialogue is a bit stilted in spots, but it can't be helped since I was using the song as dialogue.  
I actually never saw a songfic quite like this before. Maybe I've started a new type of fanfiction? So cool! Incorporating music into dialogue, who'd have thought?  
Anyways, I hope you liked it!

And yes, I KNOW that my title is bad! Aren't they always? But I just COULDN'T call it "Christmas Shoes," I have this thing with naming a story after a song you use :shrugs: If you can think of a better one, tell me and I'll change it, and put you in my notes!  
Look out for my other Christmas fic, coming soon to a webpage near you!

This fic was originally incomplete, but I have decided to make it a one shot instead. Why did I do this? Because a couple of my friends read it and thought it sounded done. They were surprised to hear it wasn't! So I decided that if I want to continue it, I'll make a sequel someday…but it all depends on whether or not y'all like it!  
Shout-outs to Liz and Jen--You girls have supported me so much these past few months and I really appreciate it!

Like it? Hate it? I'm the one to talk to! Hit the little review button or Email ladybaine at gmail dot com today!

**«·´·.(·.¸(·.¸ ¸.·´)¸.·).·´·»   
«·´¨·.¸¸. Baine.¸¸.·¨·»   
«·´·.(¸.·´(¸.· ·.¸)·.¸).·´·»**


End file.
